3.1 Residence

3.1.a Single Students

Westminster has twelve rooms on the main campus, housing nine men and five women students. These rooms are only open to full-time first-year students; however, during the summer months vacant rooms can be made available to new and returning students enrolled in summer modular courses. All rooms are furnished, but residents must supply bed linens, blankets, pillow, and towels.

Dorm residents may prepare meals in the dormitory’s kitchen. Meals may not be prepared or eaten in dormitory rooms. Students who vacate their rooms at the end of the fall semester because they are not enrolling for winter term can return in the spring semester to the room occupied during the fall semester. Students beginning course work in the winter term or spring semester should be prepared to locate a room off-campus.

Single students can also make arrangements to rent rooms from local families or apartments through housing resources at the on-line Housing Center. New single students should allow at least one month to find suitable off-campus housing. Please see the Westminster Housing web page for more information.

3.1.b Married Students

The Student Development Office has on-line resources for housing and jobs in the area, which admitted and current students may find at the Westminster Housing web page and the Employment web page. New married students seeking housing should plan to secure housing no less than one month prior to the beginning of a semester, allowing time to settle into their new home. Students with children or special housing requirements should plan to secure housing and settle into the area even earlier.

3.1.c Modular Program Students

Students in the D.Min. program who plan to come to Westminster for modular courses during the summer and who want to reserve a room in the dorm must send a $50 dorm deposit (U.S. dollars only) in the form of a check made out to “Westminster Theological Seminary” to the attention of the Coordinator for Student Development after full admission has been granted (for international students, full admission is attained upon the successful completion of the affidavit of support). The dorm deposit should accompany the completed dorm application available online. Rooms are awarded on a first-deposits-received basis. D.Min. students should keep in mind that the number of rooms left vacant in the summer is extremely limited and a waiting list often forms as early as the previous summer.

3.1.d International Students on J-1 or F-1 Visa Status

International students on J-1 and F-1 visas may not arrive earlier than one month prior to the beginning of classes, but they are advised to arrive as early as they are legally permitted to do so to allow sufficient time to settle into a new culture, secure housing, obtain a driver’s license, and open a bank account. For dorm housing, early arrival must be pre-arranged with the Student Development Office.

3.1.e Cost

Rental costs for housing vary greatly, depending on the size of the rental and its location. Generally, real estate within the city limits is cheaper than in the suburbs, excluding the Center City district; however, car insurance and taxes are higher in the city. Costs range anywhere from $400+ per month to rent a room in a person’s home to $1,200-plus per month to rent a house. Please see the Westminster Housing web page for more information.

3.1.f Dining

Students who are not dorm residents are encouraged to bring their lunches, eat at home, or eat a local restaurant. Snack and light meal options are available in the student mailroom.